Twickenham's Gilbert quits F3 for GP3 Series shot at Silverstone

ADD Motorsports driver Mitchell Gilbert has called time on his stint in Formula 3 to land a dream drive in the GP3 Series at Silverstone this weekend.

The Australian quit Fortec Motorsport after the latest of many miserable weekends in the FIA European F3 Championship, which saw him finish 11th, last and 17th in the latest three rounds at the Norisring in Germany.

The Twickenham 20-year-old will line up for Italian team Trident in the on the undercard of the British Grand Prix and he cannot wait to show what he’s capable of in new surroundings.

He said: “I’m looking forward to a new start. It’s been a difficult season and there have been lots of problems – and we didn’t feel we were getting enough support.

“But this is now about looking forward. I got a call to join Trident and I’m really excited about the opportunity.

“They need to get back on track and so do I, so it’s a relationship that we are really positive about.

“There’s not a lot of time, but sometimes that can be a good thing – we’re hoping to be pretty good straight away.”

The GP3 Series follows the entire European leg of the Formula One Series - and Gilbert is excited about the opportunities that may come with it.

He continued: “I’m trying to look at it as an opportunity. Following Formula One will be a great experience and you never know who may be watching. It will be good to be on television as well.”

Although Gilbert is unsure what will happen after this weekend, seeing out the season in the series with Trident is very much on the agenda.

His first time out in the car will be on Friday when he will get a 45-minute practice before the qualifier on Saturday.

And after meeting the team and finalising the details, he’s raring to get going.

He added: “I spent the day yesterday with the manager Giacomo Ricci who helped me on the simulator to prepare as much as possible.

“The tyre is the same tyre as F1 – it won’t last long, just two laps or three at the most - so that’s the thing that will take the most getting used to.